Motherboard Trends

With the release of Intel's D925XCV motherboard, we're seeing a change in hardware architecture. New technologies which will replace the current ones-for example, DDR II will replace DDR and PCI Express will replace AGP for graphics. There are architectural changes, such as the new Land Grid Array socket type 775 for CPUs as well. Plus, more interface technologies are getting integrated into the desktop motherboard. USB 2.0 

was common, but now there's Serial ATA, FireWire and Gigabit Ethernet. Add 7.1 onbaord audio, optional WiFi capabilities and RAID, and you have a
feature-rich board.

Intel D925XCV (New Architecture)

Here is a pictorial view of Intel's new-generation motherboard versus the older generation one to show the dramatic shift. 

What's new in D925XCV

1. The D925XCV has a new CPU socket LGA775 and the pin connectors have now moved from the CPU package to the socket. So, you need to ensure that there is a proper contact between the CPU and the pins.The D875PBZ, on the other hand, has 478 pins. 

2. The board supports dual-channel DDR2 800 MHz/ 533 Mhz and PCI Express, making maximum bandwidth available for each device. 

3. Intel high-definition audio supports newer formats and allows multi streaming.

4. Onboard RAID is becoming common, with this one supporting RAID levels 0 and 1 with four Serial ATA ports.

5. The new PCI Express slot will be used for graphics cards, as against the AGP slot that was being used till now. 

Intel D875PBZ (Old Architecture)

The board comes with many additional software-InterVideo WinDVD Creator suite, Intel Audio Studio for Dolby Digital and Intel Desktop Utilities. The board comes with three-years' limited warranty. 

Anil Chopra and Sushil Oswal